Military

SHAPE News Summary & Analysis

4 April 2003

NATO

• Euronews gave live coverage to a joint news conference by NATO Secretary General Robertson and Greek Foreign Minister Papandreou, whose country currently holds the EU’s rotating presidency, following a NATO-EU informal working luncheon at NATO headquarters. Lord Robertson indicated that EU and NATO foreign ministers discussed how best to assist the people of Iraq in creating a free, prosperous and united country after the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime. He stressed there was broad agreement that the conflict in Iraq should be brought to an end as quickly as possible, that casualties be minimized, and that aid should be delivered to the people of Iraq as a matter of urgency. As far as post-conflict reconstruction is concerned, he continued, ministers made it clear that they see a need for the international community, especially the UN with other international organizations, to engage as quickly as possible once the situation allows. Asked if he sensed support for a NATO role in post-war Iraq, Lord Robertson replied that talks today were informal and no decisions had been made. “We discussed and will continue to discuss in many fora, the issue about how post-conflict Iraq is going to be dealt with, especially in the UN context. But I think ministers were more than willing to seek whether other international organizations, like NATO, might have a role in helping in that situation.” Asked if he considered it could be a solution to have NATO as a really important game player, like in Kosovo, Lord Robertson said: “It is much too premature to get to that stage. What ministers talked about in this informal setting was the necessity to start thinking about what may happen and the fact that a lot of international organizations, including the two that jointly hosted this working luncheon, might well be involved. But we are not at that stage yet.” Papandreou told the news conference that a UN mandate would be a prerequisite for full EU involvement in Iraq’s reconstruction. Earlier, AP quoted Spanish Foreign Minister Palacio saying after bilateral talks with Secretary of State Powell that he is seeking to re-launch talks on plans first put forward by the United States in December for NATO to help stabilize Iraq after Saddam Hussein is toppled. “It’s not looking for decisions now, it’s about restarting a reflection on this,” the dispatch quoted Ms. Palacio saying. She reportedly indicated that NATO ambassadors could begin an examination of an Alliance peacekeeping role next week. According to the dispatch, diplomats suggested that the allies might accept a NATO peacekeeping operation that would build on the Alliance’s experiences in Bosnia and Kosovo. They pointed to France’s decision Wednesday to agree to NATO military experts starting planning on an enhanced Alliance peacekeeping role in Afghanistan as a sign that Paris has become more open to the Alliance taking on tasks outside its traditional zone of influence.

Amid continued coverage of remarks by Gen. Jones at a meeting with the media at SHAPE Tuesday, Le Monde observes that Secretary of State Powell is coming to NATO at a time when the Alliance is undergoing a profound transformation.
“By chance, Gen. Jones was receiving a group of journalists Tuesday to explain some aspects of what he calls NATO’s ‘military metamorphosis.’ This project took a polemic turn in the last few months, because of differences between allies regarding the war in Iraq,” says the newspaper, adding: “ For quite some time already, the United States had announced its plan to reduce its military presence in Europe. Undoubtedly, some in Washington, saw the overhaul plan as a means to ‘punish’ Germany (because of its opposition to war in Iraq). But this is not the reason. Gen. Jones explains that the time of large military bases, with a large number of soldiers, with heavy equipment is over. As a good Marine officer, he favors mobility and flexibility and this concept is the basis for the restructuring underway. A certain amount of troops (no figure is cited) will leave Germany to be redeployed in eastern Europe….. Gen. Jones stresses, however, that ‘no political decision’ has been made.” The article explains: News bases would be forward operating bases with small units which would train on a rotation basis. Such bases must not be seen as a threat to Russia, because they will not be developed “in violation of existing agreements.” The same principles of flexibility and efficiency should also constitute the guidelines for the NATO Response Force. According to Gen. Jones, the good method consists in “identifying everything which is not necessary” in member countries’ armies, in order to create a force which will be “fully integrated, highly responsive, very agile and logistically supportable.” This does not require increased budgets. It only requires “deep reforms.” The general insists: “My goal is to build this force out of existing capabilities, without asking for more money.” Noting that the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan both raise the question of NATO’s operations outside its traditional boundaries, the article adds: “Some countries are sensitive to this question, which is the subject of preliminary discussions. Gen. Jones emphasizes that he has not been tasked to do anything, either officially or unofficially, with regard to Iraq. But, he sees no particular problem with having a force that has an out-of-area capability, beyond regional capability. ‘NATO’s Rapid Reaction Force should be able to do those kinds of things that the Alliance wishes it to do,’ he stresses.”
DefenseNews.com, April 1, echoed Gen. Jones’ remarks, based on an AFP dispatch.